eBay revenues jump 23pc to US$3.4bn – predicts 2012 mobile volumes to hit US$10bn

19 Jul 2012

E-commerce powerhouse eBay reported a 23pc increase in second-quarter revenues of US$3.4bn, yielding it a US$730m profit. The company’s CEO John Donahoe predicts mobile payment volumes across eBay and PayPal to more than double in 2012 to hit US$10bn.

The online marketplace’s PayPal subsidiary also delivered a strong performance, ending the quarter with 113.2m active registered accounts – up 13pc on last year. Revenues at PayPal were up 26pc, helped by strong growth of Bill Me Later.

PayPal’s net total payment volume grew 20pc year-on-year to US$34.5bn.

M-commerce leader

“We delivered a great second quarter, driven by eBay Marketplaces’ best performance in years, strong growth at PayPal and strong same-store-sales growth for GSI’s large retail customers,” said John Donahoe, eBay Inc president and CEO.

“Our entire company is strong, but we’re particularly pleased with eBay Marketplaces, which delivered its strongest organic growth in gross merchandise volume, excluding vehicles, since 2006. And mobile continues to be a game changer.

“We now expect eBay and PayPal mobile to each transact US$10bn in volume in 2012 – that’s more than double 2011, a staggering surge in mobile shopping and payments on devices that did not exist just a few years ago. Retail is at an inflection point, and we are helping to reshape how people around the world shop and pay,” Donahoe said.

Mobile money image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

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